§ 4.2. Measurements and exceptions.

A.

Lot coverage.

1.

Lot coverage requirement generally. Unless otherwise provided in this Ordinance, no building, structure, or lot shall be developed, used, or occupied unless it meets the lot coverage requirements set forth in Section 4.1 for the zoning district in which it is located.

2.

Structures not considered in measuring lot coverage. Unless otherwise provided in this Ordinance, all structures shall be considered in determining lot coverage except the following:

a.

Windowsills, bay windows, fireplace chases, belt courses, cornices, eaves, and similar incidental architectural features;

b.

Fences, trellises, poles, posts, ornaments, lawn furniture, and similar and customary yard accessories; and

c.

Other structures listed in subsection B.1.b. below that may project into allowed setbacks.

B.

Setbacks.

1.

General setback requirements.

a.

Required setbacks.

i.

Setbacks shall be unoccupied and unobstructed by any structure or portion of a structure from 30 inches above grade upward; provided, however, that fences, walls, trellises, poles, posts, ornaments, furniture and other customary yard accessories may be permitted in any setback subject to height limitations and requirements limiting obstruction of visibility.

ii.

A building, structure, or lot shall not be developed, used, or occupied unless it meets the minimum setback requirements set forth in Section 4.1 for the zoning district in which it is located, except as otherwise established in this Ordinance or unless a variance has been granted.

iii.

A setback or other open space required by this Ordinance shall not be included as part of a setback or other open space required by this Ordinance for another building or structure or lot.

b.

Projections into required setbacks, general. The following structures may project into required front, side or rear setbacks as specified in this subsection, and shall not be considered in determining lot coverage:

i.

Paved terraces. Paved terraces may project into any required setback, provided that no structures placed there shall violate other requirements of this Ordinance and are at least five feet from the lot line.

ii.

Unroofed landings, decks, bay windows, stairs and balconies. Unroofed landings, decks, bay windows, and stairs may project into required setbacks, provided that no portion other than a handrail shall extend higher than 30 inches above the finished grade level. Unroofed balconies may project into a required side or rear yard provided these projections are at least five feet from the lot line.

iii.

Incidental architectural features. Cornices, awnings, eaves, canopies, sunshades, gutters and downspouts, flues, belt courses, headers, sills, lintels, ornamental features, and other similar architectural features may project not more than two feet into any required yard.

iv.

Roofs over porches and other exterior approaches. Roofs over porches, stairways, landings, terraces, or other exterior approaches to pedestrian doorways may encroach up to five feet into a front setback, provided that, where such roof projections encroach within the setback, the roof projections shall comprise no more than 50 per cent of the total length of the building's facade. The covered porch or entrance area encroaching into the setback shall remain exterior to the building and enclosed by no more than a railing.

v.

Projections into easements and rights-of-way prohibited. Projections shall not extend or encroach into any easement(s) or right(s)-of-way except through license agreements.

vi.

Handicap ramps. The director may allow the installation of handicap access ramps in required front, side, and rear setbacks.

vii.

Private garages and carports. A private garage or carport may project into a required setback abutting a public alley, in accordance with other requirements of this Ordinance.

c.

Contextual front setbacks. The following exceptions to the front setback requirements for dwellings abutting local streets, not collector or arterial streets, are authorized for a lot in any district. (See Illustration 4.1 below.)

i.

If there are dwellings on both abutting lots with front setbacks of less than the required depth for the district, the front setback of the lot need not exceed the average front setback of the abutting dwellings.

ii.

If there is a dwelling on one (1) abutting lot with a front setback of less than the required depth for the district, the front setback for the lot need not exceed a depth one-half way between the setback of the abutting lot and the required front setback depth.

Illustration 4.1: Contextual Front Setbacks. (The required front district setback in the illustration is 25 feet, shown by the dotted line. There are existing houses on sites A, C, and E. A house built on site B may have a front setback of just 15 feet, which is the average of the front setbacks of the two abutting lots. A house built on site D may have a front setback of 20 feet, which is half-way between the front setback on the abutting lot that is lower than the district requirement (lot C) and the required front setback.)

d.

Double-frontage lots. In the case of double-frontage lots, front setbacks shall be provided on all frontages, unless the prevailing front setback pattern on adjoining lots allows for an exception under the contextual front setback provision above.

e.

Corner sight distance (a.k.a. sight or vision clearance triangle). On any corner lot on which a front and side yard are required, no wall, fence, structure, sign, or any plant growth that obstructs sight lines at elevations between two and one-half feet and six feet above any portion of the crown of the adjacent roadway shall be maintained in a triangle formed by measuring from the point of intersection of the front and exterior side lot lines a distance of 25 feet along the front and side lot lines and connecting the points so established to form a right triangle on the area of the lot adjacent to the street intersection.

C.

Height.

1.

Height requirements generally. No building shall be erected or altered that will exceed the height limit for the respective zoning district, unless otherwise provided in subsection 2. below or elsewhere in this Ordinance.

2.

Fire protection and suppression systems.

a.

No building or structure shall be erected or altered in any district, not including the industrial districts, which will exceed two stories or 35 feet in vertical height above the mean lot elevation, without the installation of an approved fire protection and suppression system as established in the current, adopted Codes of the City of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

b.

No building or structure shall hereafter be erected or altered in any industrial zoning district that will exceed three stories or 50 feet above the mean lot elevation without the installation of an approved fire protection and suppression system as established in the current, adopted Codes of the City of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

3.

Height exceptions for appurtenances. Except as specifically provided elsewhere in this Ordinance, the height limitations contained in this Ordinance do not apply to cupolas, flagpoles, chimneys, heating and ventilation equipment, elevator housings, stairwell towers or similar appurtenances; provided, however, the following:

a.

The appurtenance does not interfere with Federal Aviation Regulations;

b.

The appurtenance does not extend more than 25 feet above the maximum permitted building height, except for flagpoles, and church belfries that must be of greater height in order to function;

c.

The appurtenance is not constructed for the purpose of providing additional floor area in the building;

d.

The appurtenance complies with the screening requirements for mechanical equipment and appurtenances in subsection 5.2.D., screening.

4.

Height exceptions for religious assembly uses. The steeple, bell tower, minaret, spire or comparable structure associated with a particular religious assembly shall not be prohibited by the height restrictions of Section 4.1, provided that:

a.

The identified structure is structurally attached as part of the primary building;

b.

The identified structure is not habitable higher than the permitted zoning height requirement for the rest of the structure;

c.

The identified structure is of the type commonly associated either with the call to worship or the identity of the congregation;

d.

The identified structure contains no symbols or words or similar items on its outer surface that are not associated with worship;

e.

The construction plans for the identified structure shall be structurally engineered and the plans signed and sealed by a licensed structural engineer; and

f.

The apex of the identified structure does not exceed 100 feet above the finished grade elevation at the base of the structure.

The city council expressly finds this provision is an accommodation that is reasonably necessary by virtue of state and federal legislation (commonly called RLUIPA) intended to balance religious liberties with government regulations such as zoning and building codes.